Rector 50 Reno

Yes, folks, it *really* happened: Marc and Carol celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 19th, 2010. Eric and Brian made sure they did it in style with their favorite people in Sparks. (Sparks is next door to Reno.) Sparks is roughly a three and a half to four and a half hour drive (depending on traffic) from the San Francisco Bay Area, through Sacramento. It is also roughly 40 miles north of Incline Village on the north shore of Lake Tahoe.

Thank you to everyone who contributed a memory of where they were on June 19th, 1960. Here’s a link to a PDF version of the booklet I put together and handed out at the party. Marc and Carol had to think *a bit* with some of the entries (Marge was the hardest), but in the end they guessed them all.

The party took place at 5pm at

Vista Pavillion @ Hidden Valley Regional Park, Sparks/Reno, NV

a lovely spot managed by the Washoe Co. Parks and Rec department in the eastern hills above Sparks and Reno with trees for shade, tables, two barbecue stands, and a horseshoe pit. The view is to the west, so sunset is one of the featured events, especially when it back lights the incredible band we hired: Analog Jazz. The kept people dancing and singing through the whole party, part of the time fronted (spontaneously) by Marc’s sister Amy. We *highly* recommend hiring them for your next celebration in the I-80 Bay Area – Sacramento (where they’re based) – Reno corridor.

Google Map Link

Besides terrific jazz music from the 1960s, the party featured a visual display of some of the terrific movies that came out in 1960:

Butterfield 8
La Dolce Vita
Oceans 11 (the original)
Breathless
Psycho

and one movie that came out in the 1970s but is set around 1960 (in the CA central valley): American Grafitti.

The menu was a tribute to Carol Rector cuisine over the past 50 years:

Stuffed Mushrooms
Pimento Cheese on crackers
Eric’s Blue Thistle cheese (a new addition)

Brunswick Stew
Potato Latkes (fried potato pancakes) with cream cheese and chives
Butterflied Grilled Leg of Lamb
Grilled Bison T-Bone Steaks (a new addition)

Crepes Suzette, which flambeéd on the grill just as the sunset flambeéd the western sky.

The Rector family continues to travel this week as we celebrate Matt and Andrea’s wedding the following weekend. As soon as we all arrive back home, more pictures will be posted.

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Carol and Marc (on right) at OSU APX Formal, Spring 1960

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Continue reading “Rector 50 Reno” →

SFiFF53 My Favorites

After the Festival, I sent the following email to Sean Uyehara, the programmer I know best at the Film Society:

Sean,
Standing in line, I was often asked, “What’s your favorite film so far?” I would usually answer, “The last one I saw.”

I just want to let a programmer know how much I enjoyed the Festival this year. I saw 18 films plus 4 Tributes (including films). Of all those, I there was only one that I really didn’t like (Woman on Fire…).

The four Tributes and their attendant films were outstanding (Hertzfeldt, Salles, Duvall, Ebert); and I considered seven of the other films I saw outstanding, with many runners-up.

WAY OF NATURE
CAIRO TIME
WILD GRASS
MOTHER AND CHILD
ALAMAR
SEDUCING CHARLIE BARKER
BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK

Please convey my appreciation to Rachael, Rod and Joe; and of course, Graham.

Until the fall season…
Sincerely,

Marcus Rector

So here are the descriptions and MY TAKE for my favorites. Film descriptions are from the Program Guide or from Scoop du Jour, the daily chronicle of Festival activity.

WAY OF NATURE
Documentaries – Sweden, 2008, 107 minutes

A mostly wordless meditation on the seasonal ebb and flow of life’s rhythms on a remote Swedish farm, where the sights and sounds build to create an elegantly subtle drama of biodiversity and sustainability in action.

MY TAKE – Fabulous. And beautiful. Way better than Sweetgrass (which was really good), as this film concentrates on the farm and the animals, with the sole purpose of vividly showing a year-in-the-life. My favorite scenes were near the beginning, of big draught horses and their young galloping in the snow. The family farm raises – from what I could see – heritage breeds of horses, dairy cattle, sheep, turkeys and chickens. Milk and eggs are sold in bulk, and they make butter and cheese and mow their own hay. The 107 minutes flew by and I wanted more. ***** Continue reading “SFiFF53 My Favorites” →

SFiFF53: The Scene

Random bits and pieces of SFiFF53:

Most films are at the Sundance Kabuki, where 5 screens are utilized.
House #1, has a balcony where one may enjoy food and adult beverages; it seats about 600. The other four houses seat about 200 each.

Let’s say we have tickets to ALAMAR at 6:45pm. A line forms outside on the sidewalk about an hour before the film begins. I would show up a little after six and Carol would join me, coming directly from school about 6:15. Our line would go in about 20 minutes before the show.

The Rush Line. If all tickets are sold for ALAMAR, its not “sold out,” it “goes to RUSH” and a Rush Line is formed. Once all ticketholders are seated, the staff fills no-show seats from the Rush Line. First come, first served, cash only.

Really big shows (Opening Night, Closing Night and certain Tributes) are at the Historic Castro Theater (1400 seats).

Before the Robert Duval Tribute, we had a bowl of chowder here on Castro Street. It’s a lot like the Swan Oyster Depot on Polk, but a bit classier, and larger, with a row of tables. Good stuff. Yum. Continue reading “SFiFF53: The Scene” →

SFiFF53 TRIBUTES

I’m not going to publish my take on every film I saw at the 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival; that would be boring as Carol and I saw 18 films between us in addition to the Tributes. But I do want to share the four Tributes we attended; I thought all were brilliant.

DON HERTZFELDT                             PERSISTENCE OF VISION AWARD
Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award – The POV Award honors the lifetime achievement of a filmmaker whose work is crafting documentaries, short films, animation or work for television. This year’s recipient is Don Hertzfeldt.

An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt
Friday, April 23
7:30 PM pm Sundance Kabuki Cinemas

From the Program Guide:
The 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival is proud to present the Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award to Academy Award–nominated short filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt for his unique contributions to animation. Over a long career, Hertzfeldt has remained fiercely independent by sticking to short format and challenging the boundaries of his craft. The popularity of his work is unprecedented in the world of short animation and his films are frequently referenced in pop culture. Hertzfeldt will be presented with the award and participate in an onstage interview at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas. The shorts program Life, Death and Very Large Utensils, a collection of short films, past and present, is set to follow.

In her introduction, Rachael Rosen, the program director, said that most films – thus most awards – are centered on narrative, feature length films. The POV Award is about the others.

MY TAKE – Accepting the award, Hertzfeldt said, “I’m kind of nervous, getting this award at my age (he’s 32); what if I screw up later… do I have to give it back?”

The great thing about film festivals is that you can see things here you can’t see anywhere else. Don Hertzfeldt is a brilliant storyteller, both in person and in his films. His film stories are, for the most part, told with hand drawn stick figures. Some very funny, some poignant, some slice of life, some one joke stretched out and embellished. Brilliant. One can see his work on DVD and on the internet, but it ain’t the same as being in a packed theater – with him.

Continue reading “SFiFF53 TRIBUTES” →

Giants v Braves

April 11, 2010

“The money lies with the RBIs.”
Jeff Kent

We left Russian Hill at 11am; light rain was falling, but there was no wind. We wanted to get to the game early for the ceremonies marking the 10th Anniversary of the opening of PacBell Park. Kirk “Woodie” Reuter will throw out the first pitch, he was the Opening Day starter ten years ago. Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent, J.T. Snow and most of the other members of that team will be in attendance. The Giants give good ceremony.

When we got off the 45 bus, it was very windy and the rain was getting serious. We met Sarah in the Dugout Store for the other important reason to be early: to get our Tim Lincecum wigs.

On into the park and up to the view level, to claim our excellent View Box seats. I got my routine Giants Dog and Harp, but there was no place to go and the wind-blown rain was pelting harder and harder. The only place covered is the concourse and there’s no place to sit. It’s 12:15, game time is 1:05 but there’s no way. The radio says they’re shooting for a 4:00 start. We took a vote: unanimous, we’re outta here.

View from the Promenade Level.

I taped the Masters, so we went home and watched that. Excellent choice. After the Masters, we tuned in the Giants game; it started at 5:15, with no ceremonies. The Giants trailed two-zip into the fourth inning, then 2-1, then 3-2. Lincecum retired after the 7th with 10 Ks and 107 pitches. In the eighth, Panda smacked a 2-run bomb into the Arcade and the Giants ultimately won 6-3. With the final out, it started pouring rain.

Marc eyeing the escalator… its in up-only mode.
Carol deciding if she likes being here.
Nice day, our seats are this way…
Sarah and Carol headed home.

“In all the years we’ve been doing this, this is one of the angriest bays we’ve seen.”
Duane Kuiper, Giants TV play by play guy.

Spring Trip to Reno

…and back It’s a beautiful sunny day and we’re on the road to Reno. We were last there in October; there is more snow now, but thankfully not on the road. (An ominous voice somewhere outside my consciousness says “Just wait, buster.”) Our lunch stop at Jack in the Box. OK, its fast food, but it is fast and unlike other burger joints, it has a broad selection of tasty menu items and it’s cooked when you order. Be nice if they paid some attention to the ambience… not to mention the restrooms.

fish n chips, fish sandwich
This dog loves his air (at 70mph).
Snowmobiling is over – or is about to start – on an early Saturday afternoon.

My mission is to drive Brian to Lovelock NV, about 70 miles east of Reno, to pick up a Tacoma he bought on E-Bay. Carol’s mission is to go shopping while we’re away. Brian has guests – Ken-the-kilt-guy and his wife Leigh – so Carol and I went straight to the Peppermill Sports Book to watch Butler kick K-State butt and West Virginia send Kentucky home.

What could be finer than soggy nachos? Not a good foodie day.
Back at Brian’s place, the Nevada sky at dusk demanded a picture.

SUNDAY

Sunday, Brian dropped Ken and Leigh at the airport and went to his office for a bit of catch-up. Sadly, I missed the drive through the desert, as the Tacoma guy brought the truck to Brian. For a late lunch, I grilled hot-dogs from Fatted Calf served with grilled Acme buns – stuff I brought from SF for the occasion – a step up from Saturday’s fare on the foodie chain. Michigan State led Tennessee by a point with 1.3 seconds to go… the Tennessee half-court heave at the buzzer was UGLY, sealing an MSU win. Duke had no trouble with Baylor, rounding out the Final Four.

Brian made broiled potatoes and carrots to go with grilled sausages. Carol critiqued.

After dinner, we played a game of Homer Simpson CLUE. That was fun (‘cause I won) (Marge in the Nuclear Plant with the necklace). MONDAY First thing Monday, Carol followed me as I took Brian’s Camry for an oil change. B is fixin’ to sell it, since now has a wikkid Toyota Tacoma truck, dark green with a big “Off Road” logo on the back quarter. We went from there to Legends featuring outlet stores for every National Chain you ever heard of. Whoop! But it’s well designed and landscaped, using their one-percent art for sculptures of Nevada State Bird, Flower, Tree and so on. On this day, it was really windy, a portent of things to come. Continue reading “Spring Trip to Reno” →

Ode to Bus

He loved his wife.
He loved his children,
his grandchildren, and
his great-grandchildren.
He loved his church.
He loved his camp.
He loved his country.
He loved to play cards and
won his share of nickels.
He was never late for dinner.
He always ordered the same thing and
he always tipped a dollar.
He always struck the same pose
for pictures but
he never struck a pose
for people.
He loved his sports;
from Bob Feller and
the Big Red Machine
to the surprising summer of ’90.
And of course he loved his Buckeyes
— all of them —
and he raised a grove
of his own.
He drove 35 on 22
and 55 on 71 but
he loved the rolling roads
through the small towns best.

He didn’t say much,
mum but never
mysterious.
Mark Twain once said
it’s better to keep your mouth shut
and be thought a fool than to open it
and remove any doubt.
But Bus was nobody’s fool,
and didn’t suffer them gladly.
His way was simple and sound;
he was always glad to see you
but the rest he left up to Liz.
He was old-school taciturn
and some would say
hard to know
but he is and always will be
easy to remember.

Edward E. “Bus” Hale

The first time I met Bus — I didn’t allow myself to call him Bus until I was well over 50 — I made the drive to Lancaster to “meet the parents.” I showed up at the door – a junior in college – with a fuzzy goatee and met the mom.

Promptly at 5pm, mom, Carol, her four siblings and I, gathered around the kitchen table. In walked Bus, sat at the head of the table and commenced to eat Chili… on a plate!… with no onions (he didn’t like onions). That was a first for me.

On a subsequent visit, feeling my oats over dinner, I made a college boy derogatory comment about labor unions. I was abruptly advised that he was a proud member of the pipefitters union. I never brought that subject up again. Surprise! He allowed me to take his daughter’s hand.

One thing sure, when I visited the Hales, there was always a game on the TV… the Reds, the Buckeyes, the Bengals or Browns. I remember him most, sitting… sitting in his big Barcalounger for the games… sitting on a bench outside a shop at the mall… sitting at the head of the table… sitting in the driver’s seat – he loved to drive. In 2006, he took us out in the big Ford on a driving tour of the back roads of Fairfield County, pointing out where he and others grew up, hung out, went to school; and where a drunken uncle or two stumbled their way home. I loved that tour. I felt like after all those years, I knew a little about the man, and that’s what I’ll remember.

SPREZZATURA

Three seemingly disparate things converged earlier this week. (1) I bought a new MacBook Pro computer, (2) I installed a “word of the day” program that launches when I boot it, (3) The word on Tuesday was Sprezzatura (an archaic Italian word for being able to conduct your craft without a lot of visible effort…more on that later), and (4) Seth Godin’s blog that day was on Sprezzatura.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Seth’s blog was on this word. He very possibly is a Mac guy, and the word resonated with him (as it did with me). However, I don’t think it would have resonated so loudly had I not seen it earlier on my WOTD and had a chance to reflect on it before seeing his blog. And I certainly would not have seen the word had it not been for the WOTD program resident on my new Mac. Coincidence? You be the judge…

Sprezzatura. What an interesting concept. We all strive to demonstrate expertise in our work by accomplishing tasks without a lot of visible effort. Smoothly. Seemingly effortlessly. But at the same time, we cannot appear to cruising through our jobs unconsciously or else our supervisors and clients may not value our work. A fine line. Godin describes it as a combination of elan, grace, and class…sort of the opposite of the loud grunts you hear on the tennis court, or the visible flurry of activity and stress sometimes evidenced when you help out a customer.

Do you have sprezzatura? Do you know people who do? Would you prefer to have an attorney or a CPA with sprezzatura; or one without? I know I would.

So focus on those areas where you can show off your sprezzatura. Reach inside and uncover those skills you have where you can effortlessly pull it off. Bring it to the surface. Your customers will value it. Your peers will envy it. And your confidence will build on it.

Sprezzatura. Don’t leave home without it.

“Be hungrier than anyone else, but never LOOK hungry. That’s the trick.”
— Chris Brogan, blogger extraordinaire

Follow me on Twitter @FdSvsU

Party Hearty

sb_invite_XLIV_jpg

Every year on the Sunday closest to my birthday, we throw a party and guess what, a Super Bowl breaks out. This year they called it XLIV. All the regulars showed up minus Leslie (we missed her) and plus Brian (welcome to the tradition!). Food was prepared and consumed; money changed hands. It was a beautiful day and a great good time was had by all. Not only that, the Saints triumphed over the mind numbingly boring team from Indianapolis, faux Colts. WHO DAT! WHO DAT! Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints!

sb_veggies

We swapped last year’s Bacon Explosion for piles of veggies. That stuff in the jars is my home made pickled cauliflower and carrots. Here they are on their way to the dining room… betting central.

Not that we didn’t have meat, we had plenty. That’s a Burgers’ Smokehouse “City Ham” from Missouri. I made a K-Paul Meatloaf and macaroni salad with a barbecue flavor. Now that was good, and it’s a good thing because we had enough to eat for a week.

We didn’t make everything… here’s Paula with her deviled eggs and Sarah with her chili. After a taste of Sarah’s chili, one need an egg to cool down one’s palate. Continue reading “Party Hearty” →